Thanks. I'll keep those tips in mind and try to locate that Cooks Illustrated._________________God writes a lot of comedy... the trouble is, he's stuck with so many bad actors who don't know how to play funny. -- Garrison Keillor

I have been developing a lot of meatball recipes.
One techinque is to poach or partially poach the meatballs in broth before you finish them. That way they can't flatten due to pressure on one side or the other.

One low fat techinque is to make very low fat meatballs (lean turkey, for example), shape and cook them in the hot sauce. No added fat, a lot more flavor for your tomato sauce. The meatballs are very soft and maybe technically quenelles, but it works. No carmelization of course, but you could compensate in other ways for that.

I've used the technique of just letting them cook in the sauce with both pork and beef mince and it works fine - although as creampuff says, you don't get the caramelization (admittedly it was lean beef mince, though).

A question for our Australian members (and maybe New Zealanders too!).
RISSOLES-----are they just a hamburger or a meatball or what??? My memories are vague after lo these many years._________________Vivant Linguae Mortuae!!

That is indeed the Cook's recipe, though abbreviated. (For example, the original suggests yogurt as sub for buttermilk & I prefer the former.)

Also, for a different take, there was an issue of Gourmet a little while ago that was devoted to television and food. Lidia Matticchio Bastianich shared a more unusual recipe for turkey meatballs cooked in sauce that is flavored with cinnamon. Epicurious might have it.

Joined: 29 Sep 2004Posts: 1196Location: buried under a pile of books somewhere in Adelaide, South Australia

Posted: Wed Aug 31, 2005 4:38 am Post subject:

RISSOLES - now there's a blast from the past, David.

My Commonsense Cookery Book, 1955 edition, tells me they are made out of leftover cooked meat with flour, herbs & breadcrumbs added. I think there is a version made with mince (ground) meat also. I guess their closest relative would be a meatball._________________Doing what you like is freedom
Liking what you do is happiness

Rissoles - hhmm, I would agree with Judy and say that the closest relative is the meatball. The ones I've had have tended to be bigger than your average spaghetti-and-meatballs meatball, though.

I had exactly the same question when I moved to Aus from the UK a year ago. One day I went to a cafe and ordered a beef burger in a bun, expecting a homemade hamburger. What I got was what I would call a steak sandwich. The other half arrived to find me staring at it in a confused fashion. Apparently if I had ordered the rissole burger, I would have got what I expected, so yes, there's a similarity to the hamburger too.

After asking the mother-in-law, as Judy said, they were originally a way of using up the meat from the leftover joint, but now people tend to make them from minced (ground) beef with the same variations on seasoning etc that you might use for meatloaf. Apparently the name comes from the french word rissoler, which means to brown.

Recently made these, adapted from Tartine Bread, and they are absolutely amazing! I would challenge anyone to come up with a better recipe, particularly as these are kind of a gourmet twist on the classic sub thanks to the addition of fontina, pesto, and arugula.

Let me know what you think!

http://wp.me/puWta-bs_________________The life, trials, tribulations, and adventures of the every woman in the kitchen; the Attainable Gourmet.